Phoenix Suns trading O'Neale, Allen to Hornets for Miles Bridges

So much for standing pat.

The Phoenix Suns have pulled off a trade that will send Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neale and a 2033 first-round pick to the Charlotte Hornets for Miles Bridges, a 2029 first-round pick and a 2027 second-round pick, sources confirmed on June 28 to The Arizona Republic.

ESPN’s Shams Charania reported the news earlier Sunday.

Team owner Mat Ishbia and general manager Brian Gregory had previously talked about liking what they have as a team after winning 45 games last season and reaching the playoffs, but they’ve traded two of their best 3-point shooters for a high-energy, athletic forward and draft picks.

After the top overall seed, the Oklahoma City Thunder, swept Phoenix in the first round, Allen was asked the following day in a media exit interview about the Suns making moves in the offseason

"I don't know," Allen said on April 28 at the team's practice facility. "I haven't thought about that. I like our group. I think we have a good chance to keep a lot of people together."

The Suns have now traded Allen and O'Neale, two of the NBA's best shooters, and are getting an explosive, athletic wing player in Bridges, who can play the four in a small-ball lineup.

The Suns are now right at the first tax apron of $209 million. They have a $6.1-million tax mid-level exception.

Allen and O'Neale had favorable contracts to trade.

Allen is in the middle of a four-year, $70 million deal as he's due $18.1 million in 2026-27 and $19.3 million in 2027-28 that has a player option.

O'Neale is entering the third year of a four-year contract worth $42 million, which is paying him $10.8 million in 2026-27 and $11.6 million in 2027-28.

Bridges is in the final year of a three-year, $75-million deal as he's set to make $22.8 million in 2026-27. He'll be an unrestricted free agent after this upcoming season. He's eligible for a three-year extension up to $86 million for the next six months, ESPN's Bobby Marks tweeted June 28.

The 6-7, 225-pound forward averaged 17.1 points on 46% shooting, 5.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 2025-26 in 77 games in helping Charlotte post a 44-38 record and reach the play-in tournament after three straight losing seasons.

Bridges has been previously linked to the Suns in trade talks, but he's also had some controversy off the court. He was involved in a domestic violence incident with the mother of his children, for which the NBA served him with a 30-game suspension without pay in April 2023.

Bridges missed the entire 2022-23 season. In recognition of that outcome, the NBA deemed 20 games of the suspension had been already served. 

Bridges received a four-game suspension for his role in a massive on-court altercation in a Feb. 9 game this past 2025-26 season against the Detroit Pistons in Charlotte.

Bridges, 28, has played his entire NBA career in Charlotte, which began in 2018-19 as the 12th overall pick out of Michigan State. Bridges was teammates with Suns big Mark Williams in Charlotte.

Williams has agreed to a three-year, $28-million deal after being a restricted free agent, sources have confirmed to The Republic.

Adding Bridges gives the Suns another connection to the Spartans.

Ishbia was a walk-on on the 2000 national championship team while Gregory was an assistant coach on that squad. Suns head coach Jordan Ott later served as a graduate assistant at Michigan State.

Allen is coming off a career year in which he averaged 16.5 points, but he only played 51 games due to multiple injuries. The 6-4 guard is a career 40.3% shooter from 3, but shot just 34.9% last season, his second-lowest average in a single season.

This will be Allen's fifth NBA team after playing a career-high three seasons in Phoenix. Allen, 30, was part of a 2023 trade that sent Deandre Ayton to Portland and Damian Lillard to Milwaukee.

Allen was with the Bucks at the time.

O'Neale, 33, spent three seasons in Phoenix as he came from Brooklyn in a trade before the 2023 deadline. The 6-8 veteran forward averaged a career-high 9.8 points in 2025-26 in 78 games as he knocked down a career-high 40.8% of his 3s after nailing 40.6% of them in 2024-25.

The Hornets made a huge trade earlier this week in dealing LaMelo Ball and Josh Green to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a 2033 unprotected first-round pick, three first-round pick swaps (2028, 2029, 2030), three second-round picks (2029, 2032, 2033) and forward Naz Reid, who won NBA Sixth Man of the Year in the 2023-24 season.

This is a developing story; check back for updates.

Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at [email protected] or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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